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Tyler James Sherman (born July 3, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician, and the senior United States Senator from Texas, serving since 2002. Born in Houston, Sherman is graduate from Georgetown University a bachelors in Political Science, and a Juris Degree. He started his career as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations; for then Senator Phil Gramm. Early life and education Sherman was born in Houston, the son of U.S. Navy officer Don Sherman and his wife, Nancy. The oldest of four children, he was raised in Washington, D.C. In 1982 he graduated from Gonzaga College High School, where he was salutatorian of his class; in 1985 he graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor's in Political Science, and obtained a juris degree in 1989. Straight out of law school, he obtained a job in the office of Senator Phil Gramm. U.S. Senate Elections ; 2002 Main article: United States Senate election in Texas, 2002 In the 2002 U.S. Senate Primary in Texas, Sherman was the candidate promoted and supported by the Texas Republican Party. He easily defeated the five other candidates in the Republican Primary while disdaining the opportunity to debate the other candidates. Sherman defeated his closest Republican challenger, Bruce Rusty Lang, a self-financed Dallas-based international physician, in the Republican Primary election by a ten to one electoral margin. In the 2002 General election, Sherman defeated Democrat Ron Kirk in a campaign that cost each candidate over $18 million. Sherman's predecessor, Phil Gramm, resigned early, effective November 30, 2002, so that Senator-Elect Sherman could take office early, and move into Gramm's office suite in order to begin organizing his staff. Sherman did not, however, gain seniority, owing to a 1980 Rules Committee policy that no longer gave seniority to senators who entered Congress early for the purpose of gaining advantageous office space. ; 2008 Main article: United States Senate election in Texas, 2008 Texas has not elected a Democrat in a statewide election since 1994, and according to Rasmussen polling, in October 2008 Sherman had an approval rating of 50%. Texas House of Representatives member/Afghanistan War veteran Rick Noriega secured his place as Sherman's Democratic challenger in the March 4 primary, beating out opponents Gene Kelly, Ray McMurrey, and Rhett Smith. The same Rasmussen poll showed Sherman leading Noriega 47% to 43%, suggesting that this race might have proved to be unexpectedly competitive. However, most polls showed a much wider margin. Christian activist Larry Kilgore of Mansfield, was a Republican challenger for the March 2008 primary election, but Sherman easily won the Republican Primary. Yvonne Adams Schick was the Libertarian Party's nominee. In addition, the Green Party of Texas sought ballot access for its candidate David B. Collins. ; 2014 Tyler Sherman speaking at the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland. Main article: United States Senate election in Texas, 2014 Sherman succeeded in his reelection in 2014. He is now Senate Majority Whip. He won the Republican primary with 59% of the vote. Tenure In 2004, Sherman co-founded and became the co-chairman of the U.S. Senate India Caucus. Sherman was selected by his colleagues in December 2006 to be a member of the five-person Republican Senate leadership team as Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. Sherman has received various awards and recognitions, including the 2005 Border Texan of the Year Award; the National Child Support Enforcement Association's Children's Champion Award; the American Farm Bureau Federation's Friend of Farm Bureau Award; the Texas Association of Business's (TAB) Fighter for Free Enterprise Award; the National Federation of Independent Business's (NFIB) Guardian of Small Business Award; the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders's (CONLAMIC) Latino Leadership Award; and the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce's (TAMACC) International Leadership Legislative Award; among others. In 2005, the Project On Government Oversight, a government watchdog group, presented Sherman and Senator Patrick Leahy with its first ever Bi-Partisan Leadership Award in honor of their cooperation on issues of government oversight and transparency, including their co-sponsorship of the OPEN Government Act of 2005, which prevented burying exemptions from the Freedom of Information Act in legislation. Sherman has been described by Jim Jubak of MSN Money as one of "Big Oil's ten favorite members of Congress", as he has received more money from the oil and gas industry than all but three other members of Congress. On the day of Obama's inauguration, it was reported that Sherman would prevent Hillary Clinton from being confirmed as secretary of state by a unanimous floor vote that day. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's spokesman reported to the Associated Press that a roll call vote would be held instead on the following day, January 21, 2009, for the Clinton confirmation and that it was expected Clinton would "receive overwhelming bipartisan support". The vote was 94–2 in her favor, with only Senators Jim DeMint (R-SC) and David Vitter (R-LA) voting in opposition. In February 2013, Sherman became one of the sponsors of the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act to expedite open access to taxpayer-funded research. On June 8, 2017, Sherman questioned James Comey on Hillary's Clinton's emails at a committee hearing whose announced topic was the Russian interference in the 2016 election and Comey's dismissal as FBI director. Committee assignments * United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence * Committee on Armed Services ''' ** Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities ** Subcommittee on Readiness ** Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations (Chairman) * '''Committee on the Judiciary (Chairman) ** Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights ** Subcommittee on the Constitution ** Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security ** Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security (Chairman) Committee on Appropriations *** Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies *** Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (Chairman) *** Subcommittee on Defense *** Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development *** Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies *** Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies '' Trump Administration Oversight Sherman is a frequent critic of the Trump administration. On April 13, 2017, Sherman was the first lawmaker to call for senior White House adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner to lose his security clearance after it was revealed that he had omitted numerous contacts with foreign nationals from his security clearance application. In June 2017, Sherman renewed his call, sending a letter signed by more than 70 other House and Senate Democrats demanding the White House immediately revoke Kushner's clearance, citing national security concerns. Political positions Civil rights and law enforcement In the 2004 debate surrounding the Federal Marriage Amendment, Sherman released an advance copy of a speech he was to give at The Heritage Foundation. In the speech, he wrote, "It does not affect your daily life very much if your neighbor marries a box turtle. But that does not mean it is right... Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife". According to his office, he removed the reference to the box turtle in the actual speech, but The Washington Post ran the quote, as did The Daily Show. Cornyn sponsored a bill that would allow law enforcement to force anyone arrested or detained by federal authorities to provide samples of their DNA, which would be recorded in a central database.40 He voted to recommend a constitutional ban on flag desecration and for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. He also voted for the reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act and extending its wiretap provision. Climate change Sherman was one of 49 senators to sign a letter to President Donald Trump urging the President to have the United States stay within the Paris Agreement. Defense and homeland security SHERMAN was one of only 22 Senators to vote against the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 that expands the educational benefits for soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead, he co-sponsored SB 2938, which gives benefits that are dependent on length of service. In August 2012, following news reports that a Russian Akula-class nuclear-powered submarine operated in the Gulf of Mexico purportedly undetected for over a month, SHERMAN demanded details of this deployment from Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert, the Chief of Naval Operations. In 2013 SHERMAN said that, despite the sequester, the Pentagon would actually see its budget increase. Fiscal policy Sherman voted to permanently repeal the estate tax and for raising the estate tax exemption to $5 million. He voted in favor of $350 billion in tax cuts over 11 years and supports making the George W. Bush tax cuts permanent. However, he stands opposed to extending the 2011 payroll tax holiday. Sherman is a cosponsor of the Fair Tax Act of 2007. Sherman also voted for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 but against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009. In 2005, Sherman voted against including oil and gas smokestacks in mercury regulations. He voted against factoring global warming into federal project planning, and against banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He also voted against removing oil and gas exploration subsidies.45 During his tenure in the Senate, Cornyn has scored 0% on the League of Conservation Voters' environmental scorecard, a system of ranking politicians according to their voting record on environmental legislation. Sherman voted for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in 2008 also known as the Wall Street bailout, and later voted to end the program. Health care Sherman opposed President Barack Obama's health reform legislation; he voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) in December 2009, and he voted against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. Sherman stated that Senator Cruz's efforts to defund Obamacare by threatening to default on the U.S. Government's debt obligations were "unachievable", saying "the shutdown did not help our cause. What did help our cause was the president’s implementation of Obamacare, which has overwhelmed everything else. I don’t hear anyone thinking that another government shutdown is the way to achieve our goals." Sherman joined other Republican leaders to block fellow Texas Senator Ted Cruz's procedural move to reject an increase in the debt ceiling. Gun rights In April 2013, Senator Sherman was one of 46 senators to vote against the passing of a bill which would have expanded background checks for all buyers. Cornyn voted with 40 Republicans and 5 Democrats to stop the passage of the bill. In January 2014, Senator Sherman introduced the "Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act". The bill would provide interstate reciprocity for persons with concealed weapons permits. Cornyn described the bill as "It’s like a driver’s license. It doesn’t trump state laws. Say you have a carry permit in Texas; then you use it in another state that has a concealed-carry law." He is rated "A" by the National Rifle Association. Victims' rights Senator Sherman has long been opposed to anyone profiting from memorabilia tied to convicted murderers, and had made three attempts thus far to pass acts against this. He introduced his first "Stop the Sale of Murderabilia to Protect the Dignity of Crime Victims Act" in 2007, which died in committee. He then revived it three years later with cosponsor Amy Klobuchar. The 2010 version of the "Murderabilia" bill met the same fate as the first. In 2013, inspired by a Nidal Hasan letter put up for sale by artist Kelly Hutchison, Cornyn decided to continue working on his bill. The listing claimed that all proceeds would be donated to charity, and the letter was reported to have sold anywhere from $2000 USD to $500,000 USD by various news sources. Family Sherman and his wife Jessica, have two kids.